Star appeal

Every F1 team is eyeing the talents of Fernando Alonso. Renault? Toyota? Who is in pole position to sign him?

The announcement, when it came, was an anticlimax. After months of bitter, silent, mistrust between Ron Dennis, the team principal at McLaren, and the double world champion, Fernando Alonso, the divorce was more decree nisi than Heather Mills McCartney. Irreconcilable differences, mutual consent, ups and downs, the bric-a-brac of life. The press release was a sad little document, betraying no anger, merely regret and sorrow, a tacit admission of failure on both sides.

"Sometimes in life things do not work out," said Alonso. "For some reason, the combination has not really worked out. Parting was for the best," said Dennis. The language was utterly human. Nobody had the heart to give the knife one final twist. McLaren, one of the best teams in the world, could not exist with Alonso, one of the best drivers in the world. It was as complex and as simple as that.